Urban Decay NAKED3: Review, Swatches and Thoughts

Much like everyone else and their mother I become quite obsessed with Urban Decay and their Naked palettes. I still remember the day I stumbled upon the orignal Naked1in my local Sephora. I let out a scream that scared the MUA. It had been sold out forever and I managed to actually get lucky enough to walk in at that moment when it so happened they still had one in stock. It was love at first sight. Years later it`s still my most reached for palette.

I passed on the more cool toned Naked2 but couldn`t resist the lure of the Naked3. I have a thing for pinky eyeshadows. There`s a funny story behind the purchase of the palette… it happened while in Toronto with fellow beauty blogger Alexa, where we braved a snowstorm and went running around downtown Toronto, place totally new to both of us, 30 minutes before midnight, hunting down a SDM that carried the brand. Hey, we love our Optimum points. After we got back to the hotel, we proceeded to film a haul and Alexa convinced me to make my youtube debut, sort of. Wine might have played a role in my bravery.

Now, two months of constantly playing with the palette, I’ve had enough time to be able to asses the pros and cons of owning it.

The palette, much like its two predecessors, is very… convenient. It comes in a sleek metallic case, similar to the Naked2 and it contains 12 neutral shades ranging from light to dark. I like the variety of finishes. You have a few mattes, you have some sheens and some flat out sparkly ones. I like the rosey undertones, I find them quite flattering and fun to wear.

The palette costs C$62 and it comes in a rose gold metallic case, with a full sized mirror inside and dual ended brush. The packaging is pretty but it`s not my favourite. The hinge is already broken on one side, which is a major bummer, because I can`t get it to stand properly and I am afraid to travel with it as it seems extremely fragile and prone to breakage. The Naked1 packaging is more prone to dirt, that`s true, and the I never used the mirror inside due to the fact that it`s tiny and weird, but I can throw it in my bag and never worry about it breaking or having the eyeshadows shatter on me. I can`t say the same about Naked3.

That being said, the eyeshadows are hits and misses. Firstly, I find there are too many dark shades in the pallete. I felt the same way about Naked 1. I am most likely to use the light shades more than the dark ones, simply due to the fact that I generally apply the light shades all over my lid and use a hint of dark in the crease or in the outer corner, more like an accent then anything. But then again, I am quite pale and half of the palette would fall in the `dark`category for me. To clarify, when I say dark I mean something significantly darker than my skintone, I don`t necessarily refer to it as being black or brown. This palette is called Naked after all.

At first glance, the color selection is stunning. The shades are all unique and lovely. In the pan, at least. I did find some shades to be extremely chalky. Strange, the lightest of them all, swatches beautifully but is a nightmare to pick up with a brush and apply get it to transfer onto the lid. Dust, a metallic golden pink has the worst pay off. I mean, whatever I manage to do pick up disappears while I attempt any blending of any kind. They should have named this one Invisible. I can say the same thing for Trick, a pinky copper. I need to try applying these shades with a damp brush and see if that yields better results, because working with them dry is infuriating. Especially when they look so gorgeous in the pan. Limit and Nooner are two other mattes in the palette, and they perform great. I find the colors to be awesome neutrals and they look so sophisticated. Buzz is the star of the palette in my opinion, it`s a lovely rosy metallic shade that applies, blend and wears so well. Darkside and Blackheart, the darkest of the bunch, look better in the pan than on and due to the nature of the colour, they loose their characteristics while blended out. They would make for a lovely smokey eye due to their wonderful buttery texture.

I am still on the fence about this palette. I like it and then I don`t. I was disappointed to see how many shades didn`t perform well, especially from a brand like Urban Decay. Another thing to consider is how practical would it be to have so many rosy shades in a palette. If you want a true neutral day to day palette, then Naked1 is definitely the way to go. Naked3 is a fun neutral palette but not an absolute must. I don`t regret it but with the insane variety of neutral palettes available today I would have probably skipped it if I knew then what I know now.